This article presents a research focused on developing musculoskeletal system for bio-inspired robotic systems. A musculoskeletal system is the fundamental structure that allows complex mobility of biological systems. This paper briefly describes the recently introduced twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) muscles and a novel design of musculoskeletal system based on ball and socket joint, as well as their application in a 3D printed humanoid robot. The challenge to develop such systems is multifaceted, including design, manufacturing, system integration, control methods, and energy usage. Some of the challenges in humanoid design are the degrees of freedom and the synergetic combination of hardware and software to perform a particular task. The other challenge is affordability of the platform. Most humanoids are very expensive. Since the TCP-based actuators are inexpensive and musculoskeletal systems inspired by biological systems are optimum for performance, they will address these problems. The bio-inspired ball and socket joint shown in the article can be cascaded to create complex robots, for example, for the shoulder joint of a humanoid.
Musculoskeletal System for Bio-Inspired Robotic Systems
Yonas Tadesse received his B.Sc degree from Addis Ababa University, M.Sc. degree from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2000, 2005, and 2009, respectively, all in mechanical engineering. His research interests are in humanoid robotics, smart materials, mechatronic systems, multimodal energy harvesting, modeling, controls and biomimetics. He is currently an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas and an affiliate faculty at the Alan MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at UTD. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of ASME, SPIE, IEEE, NSBE, and ACS. His research on a hydrogen fuel-powered biomimetic jellyfish robot has attracted several media outlets from BBC, Discovery News, Popular Mechanics, PC Magazine, New Scientist, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Dallas Morning News, Science Daily, and WIRED magazine in 2012. He is a recipient of the 2015 ONR Young Investigator award.
Lianjun Wu: received his B.Sc. degree in mechani cal engineering from Chongqing University in Chongqing, China and M.Sc. degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an. Currently, he is working towards a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research is focused on artificial hands using smart actuators, humanoids, design, and manufacturing. He has published two journal papers and two conference papers in humanoid and biomimetic areas. He is also serving as teaching assistant for computer aided design graduate and undergraduate courses.
Lokesh K. Saharan received his B.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from Kukurkshetra University, India, in 2010, and his M.Sc. degree from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He worked as an assistant professor from 2012-2014 at the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, in India. Currently, he is working towards a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research is focused on robotics, prosthetics, orthosis, humanoids, design, and manufacturing.
Tadesse, Y., Wu, L., and Saharan, L. K. (March 1, 2016). "Musculoskeletal System for Bio-Inspired Robotic Systems." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. March 2016; 138(03): S11–S16. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2016-Mar-8
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